Day 6: Protect Your Program

The main point of today's reading from "100 Days of Weightloss" is that no one cares as much as you do about your weightloss plan. We may put our needs on the backburner when our workout buddy doesn't show, when our friend who goes to Weight Watchers with us has stopped going to meetings, when someone is pushing food at a social occasion like a birthday party, when others give "advice" on the best weightloss plan, or when we plain old make everything else except our weightloss a priority.

We must make a commitment to protect our program without depending on others to help us be successful. Yes, it's nice to have others in your corner but we must be prepared mentally to do it alone if we have to. So take a walk even if your walking buddy cops out! Go to your Weight Watchers meeting even if your friend who normally goes with you can't or won't. Protect your program!

Foodpushers are not a huge problem for me but I know they are for alot of people and the book had a good suggestion for handling this that I had never heard before. Rather than saying, "No, thank you" which can often lead to the pusher trying to help you rationalize your going off plan with comments like "One little bite won't hurt" or "But I made it especially for you" or "Can't you take a day off?", simply answer "Not just yet, I am going to wait a little while." This may help to diffuse the really pushy pusher and get them off your back. Protect your program!

The book also advises not to discuss your diet in order to avoid unwanted advice, well-intended though it may be. I know this is a big one for me. I tend to be private about my attempts to diet except for with one friend who I knows understands and .....oh yeah, the blogosphere. There have been times I have been more open or even joined weightloss contests at work and rather than finding support in those things, I found unnecessary pressure. I don't like knowing people are paying attention to what I am or am not eating. I don't even like it all that much when people who are not close to me comment on the fact that I have lost weight. These remarks make me feel like my body is on display and everyone is paying attention to it. It makes me feel a whole lot of pressure and fear of failing in front of everyone. So for me, it is best to really limit who I discuss my diet attempts with. Protect your program!

The last one, making everything else but your program a priority, is easily my biggest downfall. In recent weeks I have started to realize that too much of my self-worth is wrapped up in my career to the detriment of other areas of my life including relationships and my health. I work longs hours which makes me too tired to get up early and exercise. I allow myself to take on too much which stresses me out and sends me running to food for comfort. I don't always have the time or energy to plan my meals, shop for food, or cook. So I need to start working on finding balance and making my weightloss a priority in my life that is every bit as important, if not even more important, than work. Protect your program!

The assignment for today is to write down three high-risk times or events and how you plan to protect your program. Here are mine:

1. Busy times at work where I feel obligated to work long hours. My plan during these times is to set a "quitting time" for myself that is non-negotiable. The fact is that in my job there are times that some extra effort needs to be made in order to achieve our deadlines. The problem is I have not set any boundaries for the amount of overtime I will work. I often end up working until 9 or 10 at night trying to get everything done. I will treat my exercise, food shopping, and meal preparation time as appointments that must be kept and adjust my "quitting time" accordingly.
2. Friday evenings. I often feel physically exhausted by the time Friday evening rolls around. This is a danger time for me to go way off plan. My plan is to do some restaurant research so I have some eating out options for Friday evening that won't throw me way off course. The fact is I do NOT want to cook on Friday evenings. I look foward to having a "treat" meal. I just need to find a way to make it a reasonable treat rather than an excessive one.
3. I don't think I have a number 3. The first two really cover what my main stumbling blocks are.

The other assignment was to do one thing today that reinforces your determination to protect your program at all costs. For me that thing was getting to bed on time last night so that I could get up and get to work a little early so that I was able to leave the office in time to get to my water aerobics class.

What are you doing to protect your program?